


Thunder Claps and Blanket Burritos

by penn_u



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Parental Fighting, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2016-06-15
Packaged: 2018-07-15 04:32:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7207919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penn_u/pseuds/penn_u
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically Yamaguchi is afraid of thunder (and loud noises) because it reminds him of his parents fighting, but Tsukki doesn't know about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thunder Claps and Blanket Burritos

Even with his hands clamped over his ears, eleven year old YamaguchiTadashi could hear the insults his parents were throwing at each other from his place on the couch. This wasn’t uncommon in the Yamaguchi home, but he’d been able to avoid their spats more often than not. Each fight was similar to every other fight, about how his father’s job kept him away too often to actually be called a father, and that if his mother cared she’d find a job so his father wouldn’t have to work as often.

 

There was a lull in the conversation, and Tadashi slowly pulled his hands down only to be greeted by the earth-shattering impact of a pan hitting the wall, another thing he knew too well.

 

His heart started pounding as his parents started shouting again, this time about the pan. The freckled boy turned to peer over the back of the couch and into the kitchen, only to be seen by his father. This led him back to the original argument, and Tadashi ducked behind the couch again.

 

“He’s going to learn wild behavior looking at you,” he said harshly. “At least when I am around I’m not acting totally crazy.”

 

His mother groaned and pointed at her husband. “At least I take care of him. You stopped being there the moment he was out of diapers!”

 

“If I stopped caring I would have quit my job a long time ago! Not like you know anything about having a job in the first place,” he bit back.

 

His mother almost screamed at him, “I understand that your work takes a lot of your time, but would it hurt for you to carve out a little time with with your son without having to yell about it?”

 

Tadashi peeked up again and glanced at the pan on the floor. His father saw him and shouted at him to go to his room, to not even think of picking up after his mother, so his did. Tadashi, with tears in his eyes, ran down the hall and to his small bedroom. He could still hear the shouts through the closed door, through the sheets wrapped tightly around himself, even through his thoughts of  _ they’d be happy if it weren’t for me, they could split if it weren’t for me. _

 

He heard another thing hit the wall and wondered if it was another pan.  _ Probably, _ he thought. His mother was close to the stove so she had a good enough access to them. He hoped it was an empty pot, so there would be less mess to handle later.

 

Suddenly the shouting stopped, and Tadashi wondered if they would both come and apologize for the way they acted. When he heard the front door slam shut and shake the house he knew they wouldn’t apologize, at least not together. He wondered which of his parents left. He waited a few minutes, and then felt the house shake again as thunder boomed overhead. It scared him, and for a moment he thought it was another door slamming. The thunder only increased his anxiety as he waited to find out which parent stayed, each time reminding him of his parents yelling, the pan hitting the wall, the front door slamming.

 

He heard this hinges on his bedroom door creak as they opened slowly, and he knew it was his mother. His father never checks on him the same night of a fight. Tadashi felt the bed dip as she sat down, but he didn’t untangle himself from his blanket-burrito. She sat there for a few minutes before sighing and standing again, closing the door softly. Tadashi knew she would apologize in the morning, probably after breakfast.

 

The thunder didn’t stop for a long, long time. Each boom was just as terrifying as the one before it, holding reminders of the fights his parents had just had. Eventually Tadashi found himself too exhausted to keep his eyes open anymore, but it felt like he had closed them for only a few minutes before his mother came in and shook  him awake. With how late he stayed up, it probably had only been a few minutes.

 

He pulled his head from under the covers and looked at his mother. He resembled her greatly, the freckled skin and moussey hair. She wasn’t very old, but he could see wrinkles beginning to form from years of stress and anxiety between raising her son and fighting with her husband. Tadashi wondered what she would have looked like if he hadn’t been born. 

 

His thoughts were interrupted when she put her hand on his head and tried smoothing out his hair. She hummed before speaking softly, “Tadashi, you know your father and I fight a lot. I’m so sorry that you had to see that we’re not getting along, but it’s not your fault okay? We both want the best for you, we just can’t agree on what that is.”

 

Tadashi nodded, knowing that it was the truth. His mother pushed the hair from over his eyes before leaning over and planting a kiss on his forehead. “Now go get ready for school, we can have a quick breakfast before we head out.”

 

He nodded and untangled the rest of his body from the sheets. Tadashi’s mother headed towards the kitchen while he made a pitstop at the bathroom to brush his teeth. He couldn’t help but stare at his reflection; he looked like he hadn’t slept a wink, and maybe he hadn’t and it was all wistful thinking. He rinsed his mouth and face before making his way to the kitchen, where his mother already had breakfast set down. 

 

Tadashi ate quietly while his mother milled around the kitchen, putting dishes in the sink or putting away things she used for breakfast. When he finished he put his dishes in the sink, and his mother smoothed out his hair again. They both knew that not even a comb would help it relax against his head, especially the almost-permanent cow lick that sat on the top.

 

“Come on Tadashi, get dressed or we’ll be late.”

  
  


Tadashi watched through the window of the classroom as dark clouds began to pile up in the sky. He wondered if it would rain again, and if it would be as loud as last night. He didn’t want to think about that, not while in school, so he turned away and looked back at the classroom. Tadashi didn’t have many friends in his class, except for a few girls that would occasionally dance over to his desk during lunch break when they saw him eating alone. He knew they didn’t  _ really _ want to talk to him, since he was freckly and had funny hair, but he enjoyed their company when they did join him.

 

The teacher entered the room and called for everyone to take their seats and quiet down, and Tadashi set into the boring routine that was school. He was listening carefully to his teacher explain the different language rules when thunder boomed outside. He stiffened, hoping no one noticed his reaction and that it wouldn’t be a big deal if it happened again. Boom after boom and he was slowly reminded of the awful fight his parents had the night before, and shakily raised his hand.

 

“M-may I go to the bathroom, please?” he asked. He could feel his cheeks heat up, tears ready to spill, and the last thing he needed was another reason for kids to not talk to him. Tadashi almost jumped out of his seat to snatch the hall pass before the teacher had a chance to reply. The farther from the windows he got, the less he could hear the thunder. Eventually it only sounded like a muffled clap.

 

He managed to calm the water works before unlocking a stall and sitting on the toilet. Briefly he wondered how long he could stay huddled there before a teacher or a student came looking for him.

 

Answer: not long.

 

He heard the door swing open after a few minutes too long for a bathroom break and he squeezed himself further onto the toilet. He hoped that it was just some boy come to do his business and leave, but when the other boy slammed open one of the stall doors next to Tadashi’s and the poor freckled child couldn’t help but yelp. His face burned with shame as he heard the other boy start laughing at his outburst. Tadashi slid the lock to the stall open and followed the other boy out of the bathroom and back to class.

 

He kept his eyes trained on his feet when he walked back into the classroom, but he could feel the eyes of his classmates drilling into him. Tadashi only raised his eyes to look for his seat for a moment, but in that moment he saw a boy staring at him longer than the others had. The blond boy quickly looked down at his school work when he was caught staring, and Tadashi followed suit as he slumped into his desk. 

 

It took every ounce of Tadashi’s willpower to keep himself from flinching every time the sky rumbled. He could barely hold his pencil, so at some point he stopped working on the worksheet he had been given and decided to finish it at home after the storm passed.

 

When the final bell of the day rang, Tadashi quickly fled from the classroom again without looking at anyone. The storm died down earlier, but he could tell by the dark clouds that still covered the sky that the peace wouldn’t last long.

 

Tadashi felt so stupid, being afraid of storms. Heck, he was scared of any loud noise it seemed. He could probably guess why, but he  _ really _ didn’t want to think about it. All he wanted  to do was get home and under his covers before the storm flared up again.

 

The rest of the week passed in a similar manner, sans his trip to the bathroom. Tadashi didn’t want a repeat of that, he felt so embarrassed to be found hiding in the bathroom during a storm. He heard the boys in his class snickering right as he walked into the classroom the next day and brushed it off as nothing, but every day it got worse and he had trouble passing it off as a coincidence that they were laughing when he walked in. A few times they slammed down their textbooks or hollered at him. 

 

Tadashi never said anything to them, because he didn’t think it was a big deal. It was obvious the boy who pulled him from the bathroom had told the other boys about finding him hiding there, and now they were having a fun time with this information. He figured it would die down like the storms, but until then it wasn’t anything he couldn’t deal with.

 

By the end of the year it had evolved to them and kids from other classes pushing him around and flat out insulting him, but still he never told a teacher or other classmates. Partially because he was afraid to tattle and become even more isolated by his peers, but also because he was afraid the teacher would think he’s lying. So, he just dealt with them pushing him around or tripping him in the hallway on the way to class.

 

“You’re gonna be useless if you don’t get some muscle!” A boy told him on the way out of school one day. Two more followed behind him, agreeing. They pushed him down and threw their bags on top of him. “You’re on backpack duty!”

 

Tadashi fought back tears, but when a few slipped down his cheeks one of the other boys started laughing at him. “Look, he’s crying! What a cry baby!” In the midst of their jeering, they were stopped when another kid stopped to witness their bullying. The first boy, the leader Tadashi decided, turned around to glare at the tall newcomer.

 

“What are you looking at?” the first boy started to ask when he was stopped by the other boys asking if the boy was a sixth grader. “As if, he’s just in Class 3!” Tadashi couldn’t help but hone in on that detail, since he was in the same class it seemed.

 

There was a moment of silence as the tall blond boy stared at the scene in front of him before he broke it with a derisive, “Pathetic.” He turned away and started walking off, probably home if Tadashi had to guess.

 

“Th-- The heck! Hold it!” The leader slapped the tall boy’s backpack, intending to start a fight, but was suddenly face-to-face with the other boy. He had to lean back as the taller invaded his space with a nasty glare.

 

“What.” It wasn’t a question. It was a challenge. A challenge that the bully was smart enough to avoid as he ran off, grabbing his backpack and making a comment about the kid’s glasses. Tadashi couldn’t help but burn with admiration and jealousy at how cool this kid was, even if he was probably being called pathetic too. It made him feel even stupider to be afraid of noises and bullies. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice the blond had walked off.

 

Tadashi wiped his face off and pulled himself up from the ground. It was rude of him not to thank his savior. He could always thank him the next day at school, since it seemed they were in the same grade. Tadashi nodded to himself, as a promise to himself to thank the boy for stopping the bullies.

 

When he got home he didn’t bother to greet anyone, because he knew his mom was busy with work. She picked up a job after his father left them, and it meant she worked until late at night. He was fine for the most part, but when storms hit he couldn’t help but think back to the night his father left.

 

What if she decided to leave him too? She could do it, just leave and never come back just like his father did. That would be one less burden on her, she could stop stressing over this child she was raising by herself.

 

He sighed and went to his bedroom, shaking any negative thoughts out of his head to replace them with other things. He thought back to that morning, when he’d turned in his application to the volleyball club. He was excited to join the club, it would give him an opportunity to grow stronger and it would mean he’d spend less time in the empty home.

 

Maybe this would be the start of something new. He smiled at the thought as he pulled out that day’s math homework.

  
  


As excited as he was to join the club, he couldn’t help the anxiety that was shooting through his veins. Tadashi fidgeted with the hem of his shirt as he waited outside the gym doors. He could hear the balls hitting the floors and the squeaks of shoes against the hardwood, and would peer through the door occasionally.

 

_ The other clubs looked scary, but this should be fine…  _ he thought to himself just as someone entered the gym. He scurried back from the door to look at his hopefully soon-to-be teammate.

 

Only for it to be his savior from the day before. _ Crap! He’s scary! But, I’ve got to thank him… _

 

Tadashi took a deep breath before bowing deeply and shouting, “Thank you for the other day…!” 

 

The other boy blinked at him for a moment, and Tadashi’s cheeks started to warm in embarrassment. “Have we met before?”

 

Tadashi wasn’t surprised that this boy didn’t recognize him, even if they were in the same grade. Tadashi hadn’t recognized the other boy until his bullies had pointed out who he was. But, now they were teammates. He’d have to pay attention, so why not get to know him?

 

“The..re… sh.. Oh! You’ve got some really cool sneakers, huh?!” he squeaked out. “Mine are just school gym shoes.”

 

Tsukishima considered him for a moment before he mumbled, “These are just hand-me-downs from my brother until we go get new ones next week.”

 

“Your brother plays volleyball too?”

 

“He plays at the championship school Karasuno, he’s kinda like… the ace, I guess?” Tsukishima said complacently.

 

“The ace of a championship school?! That’s so cool!” Tadashi almost yelled.

 

“It’s-- It’s not a big deal actually, it’s been that way since middle school…”

 

Tadashi considered that the day he became friends with Tsukishima. They started practicing together, eating together, sleeping over at each others’ houses. They were together to comfort each other, even in Tsukki’s way of comforting him was to just let him come over and spend the night. Tadashi had a friend for the first time, and he was determined to be there through thick and thin.

 

But he couldn’t help the gnawing feeling that he just followed Tsukishima around, that he wasn’t wanted at all. What if Tadashi only thought they were friends? Sometimes he could convince himself that it wasn’t true, that Tsukishima wouldn’t keep him around if he thought he was pathetic.

 

He started to hide his fear of sudden and loud noises from Tsukishima, so that way he wouldn’t be considered lame by his only friend. That could mean going back to being alone. It got harder to hide the longer they knew each other, especially since they had started high school and volleyball practice wouldn’t end until late in the evening. But Tadashi was determined to hide it, so sometimes when a heavy storm was forecasted Tadashi would lie and say he was going to practice his serve with Shimada-san before running ahead of Tsukishima.

 

He felt bad about lying to his best friend, but he couldn’t help it. He just couldn’t let Tsukishima know how childish and pathetic he was.

  
  


Tadashi slammed open the classroom door, hair disheveled and uniform mussed. He bowed for the teacher, spewing apologies for being late, before taking his seat. He slept through his alarm, and he didn’t wake up until his phone chirped with a text from Tsukishima.

 

**To: Yamaguchi Tadashi  
From: Tsukki**

**Re: Where are you**

**Are you sick? I went ahead to practice, but first bell is about to ring.**

 

He bolted up from bed and got dressed as quickly as he could, not caring if some buttons didn’t match up with the right holes. Tadashi brushed his teeth and hair before dashing out the door. Daichi would have his head for missing practice, but he’d feel better if he could get to school before second period.

 

At lunch he got up to join Tsukishima at his desk, even though he’d forgotten his lunch at home. He did this occasionally, and Tsukishima would always let him have half of his lunch when he forgot his own. It was a small gesture, but it was enough to make Tadashi know Tsukishima cared about him.

 

“So why were you late?” the blond asked immediately after Tadashi sat down.

 

“Oh I guess I just slept through my alarm. Sorry Tsukki!”

 

Tsukishima mumbled out a shut up before pulling out his lunchbox. He let Tadashi rant on and on about his hectic morning for a while before shoving the last half of his lunch towards the freckled boy.  Tadashi smiled as a silent thanks before finishing off the lunch. He continued to talk about anything and everything until the teacher returned to the room and called lunch to an end.

 

He liked days like this, when Tsukishima showed he cared even if he didn’t say anything. A text, sharing his food, listening. These were all minor things, but still they were nice. A warm feeling spread through his chest when he thought about it.

 

He continued to think about it during practice, and couldn’t help his heart from fluttering when he caught Tsukishima’s eye. There was always a look of discomfort in his eyes, like he thought something bad was about to happen but Tadashi never found a chance to ask him before practice ended.

 

As they all left the gym Tadashi noticed the clouds gathered in the sky and felt panic start to swell inside him. He forgot to check the weather this morning, and the sky looked mostly clear so he didn’t even think of the possibility that it might rain. He tried to convince himself it would only be a rainshower as he made his way up the stairs to the clubroom, but the ominous dark clouds were telling him otherwise. He stared at them for a moment before looking at Tsukishima, who was standing in the doorway probably making a jab at Hinata and Kageyama.

 

Not wanting to risk the chance of a thunderstorm starting while he was walking home with Tsukishima, he called out, “Hey, Tsukki, I’m going to head home first--”

 

“You’re not out of your practice clothes,” Tsukishima said flatly.

 

“Sorry, Tsukki, I just have something important I have to do at home,” he lied.

 

Tsukishima hummed in annoyance. “It won’t kill you to change out of your practice clothes.”

 

“I know but I really have to get home--” Tadashi didn’t even finish his sentence when he felt a raindrop hit his head. “Bye, Tsukki!” he called over his shoulder as he bolted down the stairs. He knew he probably looked pathetic running away all of a sudden, and he felt bad about it. How could he explain this to Tsukishima tomorrow? Halfway home he realized he left his bag in the clubroom, and Tadashi cursed himself. Now he knows he looked stupid running home all of a sudden. He pushed the thought out of his head and kept running through the rain.

 

When he got home he realized that not only did he leave his bag, he left his house key in the clubroom as well. He frantically looked around the area for the spare key, and almost cried tears of relief when he found it under their doormat.

 

He threw himself into the house and started to strip out of his wet clothes as fast as he could. Tadashi glanced through the window and felt his anxiety stir with how dark the clouds were.  _ Of all the days for it to storm _ , he thought as he climbed the stairs to his room. 

 

The first roar of thunder hit just as he pulled up a dry pair of sweatpants, the lightening brightening up his dark bedroom. He climbed into his bed and wrapped himself up in the Safety Burrito he mastered over years of cowering from thunderstorms.

 

He started counting to a hundred, trying to distract himself from the fear running rampant through his veins, but lost count each time thunder boomed overhead. Tadashi stopped wondering how much time passed  when he heard the front door close. He didn’t think it was late enough for his mom to be back, it couldn’t be. But who else would come into his home? It couldn’t be a burglar, the universe didn’t hate him that much but--

 

No.

 

No no no no no no no… Please no, not him.

 

His breathing hitched as he heard heavy steps come up the stairs and stop at his bedroom door. He hoped that Tsukishima would turn around and go home, so he wouldn’t see Tadashi in such a pathetic state but Tadashi knew that it was too good to happen. So he just accepted his fate. His best friend was going to open that door and see him hiding from a storm, see just how pathetic and stupid he really was and leave him behind because honestly, who was dumb enough to be scared of a weather phenomenon at fifteen years old.

 

The door swung open as a roll of thunder hit, causing him to pull into himself. He felt the bed dip near his legs. He braced himself for the insults he knows are coming, got ready for the soul crushing feeling of being abandoned again.

 

But then, “Why didn’t you tell me you were so afraid of thunder?”

 

When he didn’t get a reply from the burrito, Tsukishima leaned over to push the blanket away around his friend’s head. Tadashi’s  pupils dilated, adjusting to being open after being closed for so long. Tadashi focused on Tsukishima’s face and found it pinched in disappointment. But he knew it wasn’t directed at him. Tsukishima must have been disappointed with himself, for not realizing how serious Tadashi’s jumpy nature really was.

 

“I know your mom isn’t home, Tadashi, but why are you sitting in the dark by yourself?” he sighed “If it’s that bad you should talk to someone about it.”

 

It was implied that he was saying  _ you should talk to me. _

 

Tadashi felt tears prick behind his eyes and he untangled one of his hands to cover his face. Tsukishima had seen him cry before, but never like this. These weren’t tears of pain or laughter. They were relief. Relief knowing that his best friend didn’t think he was pathetic.

 

“Sorry, Tsukki,” he whispered out, biting back a smile and wiping his eyes. Tsukishima reached over again to pull Tadashi’s hand away from his face. The blond’s eyes looked over Tadashi’s face, as if counting every freckle before tugging Tadashi out of the burrito entirely.

 

Quietly, Tsukishima dropped his friend’s hand and started laying the blanket flat across the bed once again. Tadashi couldn’t help but feel vulnerable the entire time,he just wanted to get back under the covers and hide before the next thunder clap happened. But Tsukishima was taking his time remaking the bed, tucking in the blanket and straightening the pillows. When he finished, Tsukishima lifted the covers and crawled in, confusing Tadashi. He rolled over onto his side and made himself comfortable, before raising the blanket again and inviting Tadashi to lay with him. This just confused Tadashi more. The last time they had laid in the same bed together was when they were both eleven, right after they had become friends. That was short lived, though, because soon enough puberty started to make their bodies weird and tall and impossible to fit onto a bed without being squished together.

 

The longer Tadashi stared at Tsukishima, the more agitated his friend looked. It finally took the storm outside sounding off again to get Tadashi into the bed with the blond. He tried to keep his distance and give Tsukishima plenty of space but Tsukishima ended up scooting closer and pulling Tadashi into his chest, wrapping his arms around him so he had no option but to listen to Tsukishima’s heartbeat and feel his chest rise and fall with steady breathing.

 

Tsukishima remained quiet the entire time, and Tadashi had no intention of breaking the silence anytime soon.  _ This is nice,  _ he thought as he snuggled into his friend’s chest. The storm outside became unimportant the longer it was drowned out by the  _ thump, thump, thump  _ of Tsukishima’s chest.

 

Before he knew it, Tadashi was sound asleep and Tsukishima was quick to follow. They would have to talk about this after they woke up, what it meant. Fifteen year old boys didn’t just snuggle to help ease anxiety, or at least Tadashi and Tsukishima never had. But for now, they were content to sleep that way through the storm.


End file.
